An organic electroluminescent element (hereinbelow sometimes referred to as “organic EL element” or simply “element” as appropriate) may be provided with a member having gas barrier property to prevent water vapor and oxygen from entering inside the element. In particular, the member is required to have excellent gas barrier property since, when an organic material inside the organic EL element is deteriorated by water vapor and oxygen, the performance of the element may be largely lowered.
As such a member, e.g., a member having an inorganic layer has been known (see, e.g., Patent Literature 1). In general, the inorganic layer has an excellent ability of blocking water vapor and oxygen, and gas barrier property can thus be achieved by provision of the inorganic layer. When the thickness of the inorganic layer is increased, higher gas barrier property can be expected. For example, Patent Literature 2 proposes a high barrier plastic in which films formed of silicon oxide are bonded to each other, and Patent Literature 3 proposes a gas barrier layered, body having a plurality of inorganic layers.